Job Description

I am sure I heard it, read it and totally disregarded it, but where is the complete detailed job description of being a mother?  And not a mother to babies and toddlers cause you hear plenty about that when you're pregnant and you baby is young.  The preteen-tween- older than 8 stuff you don't hear about until you are 8 years committed, totally in love and trying your damndest to help said older than 8 year old become a compassionate, kind, loving, sharing, friendly, smart, happy, well adjusted, contributing member of society? 

Please do me a favor and don't tell me what happens after they are 9 I don't think I can handle it right now.

Picture may or may not represent the older than 8 younger than 10 years olds I speak of!

If you have any hints tips and advice on what worked well please do me a favor and tell me.  If you thought older than 8 and younger than 10 was the easiest please keep it to yourself!! 

Burn Out

I have heard about job burn out.  I think I am experiencing it.   I would like a vacation.  I keep reminding myself that this will pass, that I won't be doing this phase with this child or that child again, and despite what people will say I better not miss this or retirement is going to be highly disappointing.

Natalie has slept in 45 minute increments for the past two nights.  Waking to cry for 15 minutes in between bouts of sleep.  I am tired.  Tonight she was doing well until Nathan stood outside her door and let out a few high pitch screams.  I didn't think it was funny and he didn't either when he didn't get stories at bed time.  Now and hour later he is peacefully sleeping and I am hoping that at some point in then next week Natalie follows suit.

Alison told me earlier today that last night when she went to sleep (at midnight at a sleepover at a friends) she had been chewing gum for a really long time and that it gave her a sore throat.  She was supposed to be in bed an hour ago she just came to report that she has a sore throat, I told her to put the throat to bed.  She said that is what she did last night.  I told her it was a lot later last night.  She thinks I don't know anything, and that is okay because she is in bed, and I don't have to listen to her tell me that I don't know anything right now.

Lisa had to remind me today 2 minutes before tumbling that she had tumbling.  I am glad someone remembered.

Katelyn continues to steal away and pee on the carpet in her bedroom.  I affectionately call it the pee room.  It smells and I have temporarily given up trying to do anything about it.  I hope she stops soon so we can rip the carpet up and start over.  (Are you still wanting to tell me how much I am going to miss this?  I don't believe you!)

Annika hasn't brushed her hair in 2 days and watched TV for upwards of 8 hours today, the best part I didn't care the worst part she had to brush her hair before bed.

Usually I get through the evening hard part knowing that tomorrow is a new day, today I am a little concerned about what the new day might bring, as I am still recovering from yesterday, contemplating today and hoping to sleep through tomorrow.

I have also consumed an above average amount of TV the last few days, not really dealing with life but it is too hot outside to do anything else about it.

How do you deal with job burn out when the job you have chosen is permanent, ever changing and seems to get harder no matter how much experience you have?  Have I mentioned I would like a vacation?  Have I convinced any of you to offer to watch my kids for a week?  Maybe this wasn't my best marketing strategy!!

Trips

More accurately titled Hell trips. 

What I have learned;

Some trips out of the house are Hell ya! trips.  As in Hell ya I am the bomb I am out of the house with six kids all by myself and totally rockin' this thing!

Other trips out of the house are what the hell? trips.  As in what the hell was I thinking?  Leaving the house by myself with six kids c-r-a-z-y lady. 

Fortunately for me and my kids I never really know what I am going to get until we have left, and even if I think it's going to go one way they surprise me all the time.

The eyes of a 2 year old.

I haven't gotten dressed today, it 5:47.  I have been working hard all day long, my hair isn't brushed, no make-up I don't even have my glasses on.  I stink and I am tired.  There is a mountain of laundry calling my name and a 2 year old to "help" me with it. 

My beautiful 2 year old who sees the beauty in me.  She is teasing me about cleaning up while I watch her.  She is giggling as I tease her back.  She finds a headband and wants me to put it on, first she looks at me straight in the eye and says "pretty" then brushes my hair out of my face.  She then stops and thinks for a minute about how to get the headband on me.  When she can't figure it out she hands it to me and says "on"  I put it on myself and she steps back and admires and then says "cute".  She doesn't care about what I am wearing or how I smell, she is in touch with the moment we are sharing and how good it feels. 

I want to find my two year old eyes to view the world with, and I want to help her hold on to her two year old eyes for as long as she can.

What kids see

Today on Oprah she was talking about moments that changed her life while doing the show.  She showed a clip of Maya Angelou sharing a wonderful message.  My life changed in that moment.  Maya Angelou was talking about how kids see the look on your face when they walk into the room, and how we are usually looking them up and down to make sure their hair is in place, there isn't food on their face and their pants are on the right direction (that's what I am looking at).  We do this because we love them, but the expression they see is one of correction.  She talked about how the look they see on our face should match the way we feel in our heart. 

Talk about a kick in the gut.  I KNOW that 9 times out of 10 I immediately start barking orders or making corrections when my kids, especially my older ones, walk into the room.  This explains a lot.  A woman then shared how after watching this show she changed and every time her daughter walked in she would cheer "Niecee's home, Niecee's home."  I know which mom I would rather go home too. 

I am going to change.  I know that it won't happen over night, but I want my kids to see on my face and in my body language what I feel for them in my heart. 

Apparently I'm afraid of Snakes

It was the second week of off track time for the girls and I was trying to make the week a fun one.  I was happy for the few days of good weather that we had and tried to do things outside with the kids.  They requested a picnic so we took the little table and chairs out on the deck.  Nathan was taking his time eating his lunch all the other kids had scattered and I was in the kitchen doing dishes.  He comes chasing the cat through the house saying what do you have in your mouth?  I was confused in the moment thinking surely he is confused, why would he be asking what the cat has in her mouth.  The girls followed him and the cat downstairs and then I heard it SNAKE!  The cat has a SNaKE!  I grabbed the camera and headed downstairs and they were right the cat had caught a snake and brought it inside the house.  I suddenly realized that I didn't want the snake in the house, I didn't want the snake to get startled in the house and head under the couch it was right next to.  In that same moment I realized that I didn't want to touch the snake, didn't know how I should grab the snake and I couldn't convince the kids or the cat to pick the snake back up.  I saw a basket nearby and with one finger flung the snake inside then started yelling open the door open the door!  The snake was slithering out of the basket and dropped just as we hit the backyard.  Big curious Butch followed us out, and took a good sniff of the snake walked forward a few paces and proceeded to pee on it.  The cats spent the rest of the day playing with the snake in the backyard.  I have now added to the rules for the animals no snakes in the house.  So far they have obliged I hope they keep up the good work.

March 2011

Seeing as it's almost the end of April I need to get on top of my March memories.  It was a month full of drama and I don't have to many pictures, I don't even have one of Alison and Lisa (although Annika made sure I have at least 10 of the cats!).  I am happy to have made it through the last 6 weeks, and while I learned so much that I wouldn't trade it for the world, I also don't ever want to relive it!  Ha Ha, I don't allow myself to leave cryptic status updates on facebook, apparently I save it all for my blog!


Who is the biggest Justin Bieber fan in our house?  DANNY!!  He hadn't had a hair cut in a really long time this is the day he finally chopped it all off, before the hair cut of course.  I laughed so hard it made him look young and reminded me of a his Junior picture from high school.

 Group hug Katey loves to give everyone huggies!  She also loves to tell people good-bye, and loves when the girls get home from school in the afternoon.

 Annika loves animals so much and shortly after Butch joined our family he slept on her bed at night as you can see he is big enough he really needs a bed all of his own.  Annika is more than happy to share.

 Who's in there?  Natalie!  She is getting bigger and really developing her own little personality.  All of the kids love her, unless I need some help then Alison and Lisa scatter.  She is getting to big to go with me to my grandma's house.  It makes me sad for my grandma, but fun for Danny as now she stays home with him on Fridays.

The after shot from the big haircut. Nathan got his haircut a bit after this as well. Nathan will only let his Aunt Meme cut his hair, and I am grateful that she doesn't mind. I was hoping he would let me take him to the place where Danny and I go I really wanted him to have a cut like Danny but no dice this time, he went for the buzz again.

Here is another of Nathan so happy!



Kitty still likes to curl up with Natalie in her bed, as she is getting bigger (Natalie) the cat has decreased the amount of time she spends in there. On this particular day Natalie took an extra good nap I am sure it's because she was spooning with the cat.


Can you guess who takes the camera the most? I end up with more random pictures of the carpet than many other things! I am trying to upload some of the randoms but it's not working right now.


As I got thinking I knew I had a few more pictures of March but they are so exciting that I will put them in a special post all their own!